hesiod, the homeric hymns, and homerica-第2章

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rom　later　writers。

Hesiod's　father　（whose　name；　by　a　perversion　of　〃Works　and　Days〃；　299　PERSE　DION　GENOS　to　PERSE；　DION　GENOS；　was　thought　to　have　been　Dius）　was　a　native　of　Cyme　in　Aeolis；　where　he　was　a　seafaring　trader　and；　perhaps；　also　a　farmer。　　He　was　forced　by　poverty　to　leave　his　native　place；　and　returned　to　continental　Greece；　where　he　settled　at　Ascra　near　Thespiae　in　Boeotia　（〃Works　and　Days〃；　636　ff。）。　　Either　in　Cyme　or　Ascra；　two　sons；　Hesiod　and　Perses；　were　born　to　the　settler；　and　these；　after　his　death；　divided　the　farm　between　them。　　Perses；　however；　who　is　represented　as　an　idler　and　spendthrift；　obtained　and　kept　the　larger　share　by　bribing　the　corrupt　‘lords'　who　ruled　from　Thespiae　（〃Works　and　Days〃；　37…39）。　　While　his　brother　wasted　his　patrimony　and　ultimately　came　to　want　（〃Works　and　Days〃；　34　ff。）；　Hesiod　lived　a　farmer's　life　until；　according　to　the　very　early　tradition　preserved　by　the　author　of　the　〃Theogony〃　（22…23）；　the　Muses　met　him　as　he　was　tending　sheep　on　Mt。　Helicon　and　‘taught　him　a　glorious　song'　　doubtless　the　〃Works　and　Days〃。　　The　only　other　personal　reference　is　to　his　victory　in　a　poetical　contest　at　the　funeral　games　of　Amphidamas　at　Chalcis　in　Euboea；　where　he　won　the　prize；　a　tripod；　which　he　dedicated　to　the　Muses　of　Helicon　（〃Works　and　Days〃；　651…9）。

Before　we　go　on　to　the　story　of　Hesiod's　death；　it　will　be　well　to　inquire　how　far　the　〃autobiographical〃　notices　can　be　treated　as　historical；　especially　as　many　critics　treat　some；　or　all　of　them；　as　spurious。　　In　the　first　place　attempts　have　been　made　to　show　that　〃Hesiod〃　is　a　significant　name　and　therefore　fictitious：　it　is　only　necessary　to　mention　Goettling's　derivation　from　IEMI　to　ODOS　（which　would　make　‘Hesiod'　mean　the　‘guide'　in　virtues　and　technical　arts）；　and　to　refer　to　the　pitiful　attempts　in　the　〃Etymologicum　Magnum〃　（s。v。　ESIODUS）；　to　show　how　prejudiced　and　lacking　even　in　plausibility　such　efforts　are。　　It　seems　certain　that　‘Hesiod'　stands　as　a　proper　name　in　the　fullest　sense。　　Secondly；　Hesiod　claims　that　his　father　　if　not　he　himself　　came　from　Aeolis　and　settled　in　Boeotia。　　There　is　fairly　definite　evidence　to　warrant　our　acceptance　of　this：　the　dialect　of　the　〃Works　and　Days〃　is　shown　by　Rzach　（3）　to　contain　distinct　Aeolisms　apart　from　those　which　formed　part　of　the　general　stock　of　epic　poetry。　　And　that　this　Aeolic　speaking　poet　was　a　Boeotian　of　Ascra　seems　even　more　certain；　since　the　tradition　is　never　once　disputed；　insignificant　though　the　place　was；　even　before　its　destruction　by　the　Thespians。

Again；　Hesiod's　story　of　his　relations　with　his　brother　Perses　have　been　treated　with　scepticism　（see　Murray；　〃Anc。　Gk。　Literature〃；　pp。　53…54）：　Perses；　it　is　urged；　is　clearly　a　mere　dummy；　set　up　to　be　the　target　for　the　poet's　exhortations。　　On　such　a　matter　precise　evidence　is　naturally　not　forthcoming；　but　all　probability　is　against　the　sceptical　view。　　For　1）　if　the　quarrel　between　the　brothers　were　a　fiction；　we　should　expect　it　to　be　detailed　at　length　and　not　noticed　allusively　and　rather　obscurely　　as　we　find　it；　2）　as　MM。　Croiset　remark；　if　the　poet　needed　a　lay…figure　the　ordinary　practice　was　to　introduce　some　mythological　person　　as；　in　fact；　is　done　in　the　〃Precepts　of　Chiron〃。　　In　a　word；　there　is　no　more　solid　ground　for　treating　Perses　and　his　quarrel　with　Hesiod　as　fictitious　than　there　would　be　for　treating　Cyrnus；　the　friend　of　Theognis；　as　mythical。

Thirdly；　there　is　the　passage　in　the　〃Theogony〃　relating　to　Hesiod　and　the　Muses。　　It　is　surely　an　error　to　suppose　that　lines　22…35　all　refer　to　Hesiod：　rather；　the　author　of　the　〃Theogony〃　tells　the　story　of　his　own　inspiration　by　the　same　Muses　who　once　taught　Hesiod　glorious　song。　　The　lines　22…3　are　therefore　a　very　early　piece　of　tradition　about　Hesiod；　and　though　the　appearance　of　Muses　must　be　treated　as　a　graceful　fiction；　we　find　that　a　writer；　later　than　the　〃Works　and　Days〃　by　perhaps　no　more　than　three…quarters　of　a　century；　believed　in　the　actuality　of　Hesiod　and　in　his　life　as　a　farmer　or　shepherd。

Lastly；　there　is　the　famous　story　of　the　contest　in　song　at　Chalcis。　　In　later　times　the　modest　version　in　the　〃Works　and　Days〃　was　elaborated；　first　by　making　Homer　the　opponent　whom　Hesiod　conquered；　while　a　later　period　exercised　its　ingenuity　in　working　up　the　story　of　the　contest　into　the　elaborate　form　in　which　it　still　survives。　　Finally　the　contest；　in　which　the　two　poets　contended　with　hymns　to　Apollo　（4）；　was　transferred　to　Delos。　　These　developments　certainly　need　no　consideration：　are　we　to　say　the　same　of　the　passage　in　the　〃Works　and　Days〃？　　Critics　from　Plutarch　downwards　have　almost　unanimously　rejected　the　lines　654…662；　on　the　ground　that　Hesiod's　Amphidamas　is　the　hero　of　the　Lelantine　Wars　between　Chalcis　and　Eretria；　whose　death　may　be　placed　circa　705　B。C。　　a　date　which　is　obviously　　too　low　for　the　genuine　Hesiod。　　Nevertheless；　there　is　much　to　　be　said　in　defence　of　the　passage。　　Hesiod's　claim　in　the　〃Works　　and　Days〃　is　modest；　since　he　neither　pretends　to　have　met　Homer；

nor　to　have　sung　in　any　but　an　impromptu；　local　festival；　so　that

the　supposed　interpolation　lacks　a　sufficient　motive。　　And　there　　is　nothing　in　the　context　to　show　that　Hesiod's　Amphidamas　is　to　　be　identified　with　that　Amphidamas　whom　Plutarch　alone　connects　　with　the　Lelantine　War：　the　name　may　have　been　borne　by　an　　earlier　Chalcidian；　an　ancestor；　perhaps；　of　the　person　to　whom　　Plutarch　refers。

The　story　of　the　end　of　Hesiod　may　be　told　in　outline。　　After　the　contest　at　Chalcis；　Hesiod　went　to　Delphi　and　there　was　warned　that　the　‘issue　of　death　should　overtake　him　in　the　fair　grove　of　Nemean　Zeus。'　　Avoiding　therefore　Nemea　on　the　Isthmus　of　Corinth；　to　which　he　supposed　the　oracle　to　refer；　Hesiod　retired　to　Oenoe　in　Locris　where　he　was　entertained　by　Amphiphanes　and　Ganyetor；　sons　of　a　certain　Phegeus。　　This　place；　however；　was　also　sacred　to　Nemean　Zeus；　and　the　poet；　suspected　by　his　hosts　of　having　seduced　their　sister　（5）；　was　murdered　there。　　His　body；　cast　into　the　sea；　was　brought　to　shore　by　dolphins　and　buried　at　Oenoe　（or；　according　to　Plutarch；　at　Ascra）：　at　a　later　time　his　bones　were　removed　to　Orchomenus。　　The　whole　story　is　full　of　miraculous　elements；　and　the　various　authorities　disagree　on　numerous　points　of　detail。　　The　tradition　seems；　however；　to　be　constant　in　declaring　that　Hesiod　was　murdered　and　buried　at　Oenoe；　and　in　this　respect　it　is　at　least　as　old　as　the　time　of　Thucydides。　　In　conclusion　it　may　be　worth　while　to　add　the　graceful　epigram　of　Alcaeus　of　Messene　（〃Palatine　Anthology〃；　vii　55）。

　　　　　〃When　in　the　shady　Locrian　grove　Hesiod　lay　dead；　the　Nymphs　　　　　　washed　his　body　with　water　from　their　own　springs；　and　　　　　　heaped　high　his　grave；　and　thereon　the　goat…herds　sprinkled　　　　　　offerings　of　milk　mingled　with　yellow…honey：　such　was　the　　　　　　utterance　of　the　nine　Muses　that　he　breathed　forth；　that　old　　　　　　man　who　had　tasted　of　their　pure　springs。〃


The　Hesiodic　Poems

The　Hesiodic　poems　fall　into　two　groups　according　as　they　are　didactic　（technical　or　gnomic）　or　genealogical：　the　first　group　centres　round　the　〃Works　and　Days〃；　the　second　round　the　〃Theogony〃。

I。　〃The　Works　and　Days〃：　The　poem　consists　of　four　main　sections。　a）　After　the　prelude；　which　Pausanias　failed　to　find　in　the　ancient　copy　engraved　on　lead　seen　by　him　on　Mt。　Helicon；　comes　a　general　exhortation　to　industry。　　It　begins　with　the　allegory　of　the　two　Strifes；　who　stand　for　wholesome　Emulation　and　Quarrelsomeness　respectively。　　Then　by　means　of　the　Myth　of　Pandora　the　poet　shows　how　evil　and　the　need　for　work　first　arose；　and　goes　on　to　describe　the　Five　Ages　of　the　World；　tracing　the　gradual　increase　in　evil；　and　emphasizing　the　present　miserable　condition　of　the　world；　a　condition　in　which　struggle　is　inevitable。　　Next；　after　the　Fable　of　the　Hawk　and　Nightingale；　which　serves　as　a　condemnation　of　violence　and　injustice；　the　poet　passes　on　to　contrast　the　blessing　which　Righteousness　brings　to　a　nation；　and　the　punishment　which　Heaven　sends　down　upon　the　violent；　and　the　section　concludes　with　a　series　of　precepts　on　industry　and　prudent　conduct　generally。　　b）　The　second　section　shows　how